MEN'S HOCKEY COMES BACK TO GAIN 4-4 TIE IN OVERTIME AT TRINITY (CT)

HARTFORD, CT - Freshman forward Michael Crowder (Flint, MI) netted a pair of goals to help the University of Massachusetts Boston men's ice hockey team to a 4-4 tie vs. host Trinity College (CT) tonight in an Eastern College Athletic Conference/New England Small College Athletic Conference match-up in Hartford, CT. The Beacons are now 3-1-1 on the season and 1-1-1 in league play, while the Bantams are 3-1-1 and 2-0-1. The tie was the first non-loss vs. Trinity since a 2-1 road victory on November 21, 1998.

UMass Boston faced a 4-1 deficit following a pair of Trinity goals in a span of 14 seconds. Sophomore forward Joseph Tierney (Reading, MA) scored on a feed from senior forward Richard Hollstein (Pembroke, MA) at 11:52 of the second period to give the Bantams a 3-1 lead, before Tierney then found freshman defenseman Jeffrey Menard (Burlington, MA) at 12:06 for a 4-1 bulge.

The Beacons did some quick scoring of their own in a span of 18 seconds when sophomore forwards Bill Baker (Vancouver, BC) and Kyle Tejchma (Fruitport, MI) combined to find Crowder for his second tally of the night and third of the season at the 17:38 mark of the second stanza. Sophomore forward Jimmy Ennis (Roslindale, MA) then connected with classmate Andrew Burke (Southampton, PA) for his second goal of the year at 17:56 to pull UMass Boston to within 4-3. Burke returned the favor when he and sophomore forward Jeff Van Siclen (Alamo, CA) set up Ennis for the game-tying score just 2:27 into the third period.

Neither team would score for the final 22:33 of the game, including a scoreless overtime.

Hollstein put Trinity on the board first with his first goal of the campaign coming on an assist from freshman forward Stephen Rogers (Watertown, MA) at 12:17 of the opening period. Crowder netted the equalizer just over three minutes later for the Beacons, courtesy of a helper from his linemates, Baker and Tejchma at 15:27 to make it 1-1. Junior forward Adam Houli (Howell, NJ) reclaimed the lead for the Bantams with his third score of the year on an assist from junior forward Matthew Quigley (Pittsburgh, PA) with 2:09 gone in the second period.

Sophomore goaltender Kevin Bendel (Denville, NJ) earned the tie for UMass Boston with some clutch play in relief. He stopped all 14 shots he faced in the final 32:54 of play. Senior goalie Ryan Donovan (Rexford, NY) got the starting nod for the Beacons and turned away 12 of 16 shots in the first 32:06 of action. Junior goalie Wesley Vesprini (Lexington, MA) made 35 saves for Trinity.

UMass Boston will be in action again tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. when it travels to Middletown, CT to take on Wesleyan University, while the Bantams host Babson College tomorrow at 3:00 p.m.